Thanks for the link @Lothor. I read through the article but it really seems like a very minimal effort is made to follow through with enforcement. A lot of this seems to be because the enforcement has no legal ability to enforce and another part is modifications to the convention to basically allow it to not be enforced.It is being enforced to an extent despite some problems. You can read about it for yourself here.
Three years after Japan signed Hague, parents who abduct still win | The Japan Times
"I've given everything, I've lost my job, my house and my savings in the last three years. I weigh 80 kilograms now, and I'll give it all until the very last gram," Vincent Fichot said, sitting at the entrance to a train station in Tokyo, not far from the new Olympic stadium. Fichot, 39, who has lived in Japan for 15 years, said he will not give up his hunger strike until his children, a boy and a girl aged 6 and 4, are returned to him. Failing that, he said, "I want the French authorities to show me they are serious and that they really want to defend my kids, and that they will impose sanctions against Japan until Japan agrees to protect my children's rights." His wife has accused him in court of domestic violence, Fichot said, but later "retracted" the claim, and the Japanese justice system now has "nothing to reproach me for," he said. "I've tried everything, I've tried to convince my wife by saying to her that it was not good for the kids," he added. "Right now, I don't even know if they are alive."
...and even with non-amicable divorces when the safety of the children is not an issue. My parents had a very messy divorce but visitation rights for my younger siblings (I was about to go to university when they announced their divorce) were never an issue.It's quite heartbreaking, and, frankly, I fail to understand why Japanese family law has no provisions for joint custody and visiting rights for non-custodial parents.* It seems to be possible in the case of amicable divorces.
The European Union ambassadors to Japan met with Vincent Fichot, 39, who is camped out at a train station near the National Stadium, a focus of the ongoing Games, where temperatures regularly top 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) amid sweltering humidity. Fichot's dramatic protest aims to draw attention to the plight of parents like him who are denied custody or visitation of their children in a divorce. Japan, unlike most countries, does not recognise joint custody and children often lose contact with the non-custodial parent.
The system of sole parental authority is, in a sense, a holdover from Japan's prewar patriarchy, when only fathers were made the holders of that right following divorce, under the logic that children belonged to the male parent. Out went this patriarchal system after the war, and in came the principle of equality between fathers and mothers under the new Civil Code, but it remained unchanged that only one of them could be granted parental authority post-divorce. This was due mainly to the belief that allowing both parents to wield power over children would risk "complicating parents' decision-making" in child-rearing matters, according to Masayuki Tanamura, a professor of family law studies at Waseda University. Many fathers continued to assume parental authority in the immediate years after the war. However, mothers soon became the dominant holders of this right as a "men at work, women at home" mentality prevented many fathers from bonding with their children. Today, mothers are afforded parental authority in around 80% of all divorce cases involving children.
Too bad it is unlikely to come to anything.Officials in France have issued an international arrest warrant for a Japanese woman accused of keeping her two children from their French father, AFP news agency reports.
France issues arrest warrant over Japan 'parental kidnap'
Vincent Fichot says his Japanese wife disappeared from the family home with his two children in 2018.www.bbc.com
Too bad it is unlikely to come to anything.
She'll just have to do some extra research on potential vacation destinations. Thailand, for example, doesn't appear to have an extradition treaty with France.Sadly, that's true; however, the abducting mother will not be able to leave the country. I wouldn't like to have a Red Notice on me.
She'll just have to do some extra research on potential vacation destinations. Thailand, for example, doesn't appear to have an extradition treaty with France.
There could be many reasons. Perhaps he forced her to eat bleu cheese and she hates bleu cheese.Probably, she would still be flagged and questioned by immigration. Whatever happens, she will have to keep a low profile for years to come, shield her daughters, and hide in Japan. Is that really worth it? Why not just arrange visiting rights for the father of her children?
There could be many reasons. Perhaps he forced her to eat bleu cheese and she hates bleu cheese.
In the suit, filed by his Japanese wife, the court also granted her divorce from Fichot. Fichot's lawyer said he will appeal the ruling. Presiding Judge Yasushi Ogawara said, however, the woman should let Fichot see their two children and asked the couple to discuss what is best for the children. Fichot, 40, married the woman in 2009 and the two had been living in Tokyo. She ran off with the children in August 2018. The woman claimed she suffered domestic violence while they lived together, but the court did not recognize that abuse occurred.
Sadly, we can also assume that nothing will be done when she doesn't comply.Sadly, we can assume that she will not comply with the court's recommendations. The legal battle will continue.
Smith's letter cites examples of parents who have been unable to access their children in Japan due in part to Japanese law not recognizing joint custody. One of those parents, Jeffrey Morehouse, has testified at several congressional hearings chaired by Smith about his struggle to gain access to his son Mochi since 2010 despite Japanese law recognizing his legal custody in Washington state. [...] Unlike many other countries, Japan does not allow dual custody of children for their divorced parents. Only one parent can take the children, though the other parent can gain visitation rights. In some cases, the parent with custody blocks contact with the other one. There have been some high-profile cases of custody disputes brought up by foreign husbands divorced from Japanese women accusing them of child abduction.
It's not exactly redress for the situations described in this thread, but hopefully a change like this means a shift in the landscape that reduces the number of familial child abductions in the future.
Japan rolls out new joint custody system
By Jessica Speed
STAFF WRITER
Mar 31, 2026
Japan will introduce its joint custody system on Wednesday, marking a sweeping overhaul of the country's family law under a revised Civil Code, the first of its kind in over a century.
The change ends Japan's long-standing sole custody framework, under which only one parent could retain parental rights following a divorce. Under the new system, divorcing couples can choose between joint and sole custody through mutual agreement. Couples who have already divorced may petition family courts to switch from their existing arrangements.
Under joint custody, parents are expected to make major decisions together, including those related to a child's education or place of residence. Either parent, however, can act independently on routine matters such as meals and clothing, as well as in urgent situations such as medical emergencies.
If parents cannot agree at the time of divorce, family courts will decide whether joint or sole custody is appropriate, based on the child's best interests. Courts are required to grant sole custody in cases involving a risk of child abuse, or those in which domestic violence would make joint decision-making difficult for parents.
The rollout has drawn mixed reactions from the public. Critics question whether courts are equipped to properly assess risks such as domestic violence, particularly in cases where evidence is limited. Some abuse survivors have voiced concerns that the system could expose them to continued contact with or interference from former partners.
However, proponents say that the new system will put Japan more in line with international standards when it comes to child custody laws.
Applications to change existing sole custody arrangements will not be automatically approved. Courts may reject such requests in cases involving abuse or those in which a parent has failed to pay child support for an extended period without valid justification.
Alongside the custody overhaul, Japan also will introduce a statutory child support system Wednesday aimed at strengthening financial protections for children. Custodial parents will be able to claim a baseline payment of ¥20,000 ($125) per month per child from the nonresident parent, even in the absence of a prior agreement.
The provision is intended as a temporary measure until formal support arrangements are established and will apply to divorces finalized from April.
The revised law also strengthens the enforcement of child support claims when a nonresident parent does not make payment.
Previously, child support claims generally required either an agreement between parents or formal family court procedures. Now, child support claims will be granted priority over other debts through a lien, and enforcement will be possible based on private written agreements between parents, removing the need for notarized documents in some cases.
Payments under the new system will be capped at ¥80,000 per child per month.
oh thanks! I tried a search but missed the thread, should've known I wasn't breaking news here!We have updates in this thread:
The Japanese government announced that it had approved an ordinance to implement revisions to the Civil Code, introducing a new system of joint child custody for divorced parents starting 1 April next year. The exact date will also mark the launch of a statutory child support framework that requires fixed payments when no agreement on financial support is reached at the time of divorce.
The reform aims to bring greater stability to children's lives after their parents separate. Under the new arrangement, parents will be able to decide whether to share custody or for one parent to retain...
- thomas
- joint custody
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